By Hannah Hanson
“Something I will always miss about college is how close everyone is to each other. All of my friends lived in the same area, I lived right next to campus too. Even when it came to the COMM department, the professors and the students were a very tight group of people and they always had their doors open. One part of me was excited to be moving on with my life, getting a job, and being in a different work environment; but the other part of me was incredibly sad that I had to leave all the friendships and memories I made back in Farmville.”
Heidi Voss currently works as the business development coordinator for the School Nutrition Association but her time spent at Longwood University from 2012 to 2016 helped her become the professional she is today.
After graduating in May of 2016 from the Communication Studies program, Heidi got a reality check from the comfort of being a college student. While Voss was at Longwood she took advantage of all the extracurricular opportunities she could. She joined several organizations such as campus community, Alpha Gamma Delta, peer mentors, and Lambda Pi Eta. Voss said, “One thing unique about Longwood is that the more involved you become, the more friends you make, and the more Longwood becomes your home. Which makes it even harder to leave.”
Heidi’s job responsibilities revolve around planning events for the organization’s foundation team and business development team. Because she works for two different teams, she also reports to two different managers, something Voss says “I wouldn’t be able to work with both of my bosses if I had not taken my Interpersonal Communications and Conflict Resolution classes.”
Voss works to plan meetings to connect industry members that deal with food and school nutrition specialists to the kitchen managers and staff. Voss says that the School Nutrition Foundation, which is the non-profit aspect of their organization, also holds conferences for all of the industry members and kitchen managers to attend. Voss helps to assign and give out many scholarships for the kitchen staff to attend as well. The foundation also helps to provide new kitchen equipment and distributes scholarships for kitchen staff to continue their education, all of which Voss is part of planning.
Although Voss is very excited to be in the “real world” and working for the School Nutrition Association, she states, “The transition from being a college student to a working professional is stressful, yet exciting. But having a great support system at Longwood and within the COMMunity was what made it easier.”
Heidi’s Longwood experience wouldn’t have been the same without the friends, professors, and organizations she met and joined while she was a student. Voss says, “Don’t take your time at Longwood for granted, get involved, and make the most of the best years of your life.”